Take an Alternative Break

JMU students help build a home during an Alternative Spring Break trip. Picture by Frank Ameka for JMU University Unions.

By Molly Robinson

Looking to serve communities in need and engage in short-term travel while in college? Community Service Learning (CSL) offers an array of service trips year-round to engage your skills and desire to aid causes of interest to you through the Alternative Break Program.

This fall there will be four weekend service trips and a Thanksgiving trip. The weekend trips include partnerships with the following agencies:

Clagett Farm (Focus on Food Justice)

Habitat for Humanity (Focus on Homelessness)

The Special Olympics (Focus on Disability)

Camp Holiday Trails (Focus on Disability)

The Thanksgiving trips offered this year are partnerships with the following agencies:

Food & Friends (Focus on Health/Hunger & Homelessness)

Heart of Florida Way (Focus on Hunger and Homelessness)

Unique to this winter break, CSL will be offering a weeklong service trip to Ecuador partnering with the Escuela Semillita (Focus on Children and Youth Education).

How do you get involved?

There is a combined lottery for the Thanksgiving and Winter trips. You can enter the lottery and your name will be picked at random—the trips fill first-come, first-served based on the order your name is drawn.